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AFA NEWSROOM V10 NO. 8, APRIL 15, 2015

sparks fell on monroe County

Senator Greg Albritton (R-Range, pictured below) essentially controls the fate of HB183, a bill that enables the Monroe County Commission to hold a referendum to impose a five cents/gallon tax on fuel in Monroe County.

Thankfully the voters of Monroe County get it. Monday night, Senator Albritton held a public hearing in the Monroe County Courthouse in Monroeville. Over 100 people showed up to voice their opinion on the proposed legislation. In attendance were officials from the County that made a presentation in support of the legislation.

Congressman BRADLEY BYRNE APPOINTED TO key cOMMITTEE

Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Fairhope, has been appointed to the House Rules Committee, a move that places the Alabama Republican on one of the body's most powerful groups.

Among the oldest standing committees in the House, the Rules Committee is tasked with determining how bills come before members and assisting House leadership in scheduling bills for floor action. (Photo: AL.com)

The grant program will end on Friday, August 28, 2015, of this year. This means, all projects must be completed by this date.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the DERA grant program, please call 334-271-7803, or via email, asmiley@adem.state.us.al.

BOUTWELLS CONTEND FOR REGIONAL TREE FARMER OF THE YEAR HONOrs

The Alabama Tree Farm Family of the Year for 2012, John and Ann Boutwell, are in contention for Regional Tree Farmers of the Year for 2015. If they win that honor, they will then contend for the 2015 National Tree Farmer of the Year honors.

Our congratulations to John (pictured left) and his family for making the first cut. Keep your fingers crossed that they continue to do well in this year's competition.

HOW FORESTRY CAME TO THE SOUTHEAST!

Bill Consoletti, SESAF Historian, and five SESAF colleagues worked on a book for over six years and published it last year. It is titled: How Forestry Came to the Southeast; The Role of the Society of American Foresters by Earl Porter and William Consoletti and is available on Amazon for $25.

5 QUESTIONS ABOUT NEW BIOMASS SUSTAINABILITY GUIDELINES FOR THE EU

In the midst of the debate over the whether importing wood pellets to the European Union from the southern United States is a sustainable undertaking for electricity generators there, the Sustainable Biomass Partnership (SBP) has released its Biomass Assurance Framework.

TREE FARM INSPECTOR WORKSHOP SCHEDULE SET

The Inspector Training Workshop serves as an opportunity for new inspectors to be trained as well as inactive inspectors to be certified to the current 2015-2020 Standards of Sustainability. Current, active inspectors can do an online refresher or attend a training session.

Inspectors who have been trained since January 1, 2013 or are currently trained to the 2010-2015 Standards and have done an inspection in the last 2 years (since Jan. 1, 2013) may do the online refresher training. All others must complete the in-person training workshop.

Spinnova developing wood-based textile yarns

A Finnish company is working to bring to industrial scale a process that creates yarn from wood fibre using a wet spinning technique. Spinnova Ltd., a research and product development company, is the latest spin-off of VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd. Spinnova is developing fibre to yarn (F2Y) technology which is totally different from traditional textile yarn production.

students to design mentone arts and cultural center

Second year students and faculty members from the University of Auburn School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture descended on Mentone March 9, 2015 to gather background information for creating their concept of our proposed Mentone Arts and Cultural Center.

Associate Professor, Justin Miller, leads the students in the school’s yearly Alabama Wood Competition Project in which the students create their design concept for the center. Practitioners and faculty will judge student architectural concepts and the finalists will present their designs to our MACC Board of Directors.

PACE: Governors want more oil and gas leasing

In a March 30th letter to Department of Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, eight governors of coastal states expressed their hope that federal authorities would expand offshore oil and gas leases. The comments were submitted in a letter in relation to the 2017-2022 Draft Proposed Outer Continental Shelf Oil & Gas Leasing Program.

forestry & wildlife school set for June 18-19

The Forestry and Wildlife School for Landowners will be held on Thursday and Friday, June 18 and 19, 2015 in Munford, AL. Topics will be Wildlife Management Concepts and Terms, Introduction to Timber Management, Planting Trees & Creating Wildlife Openings, Marketing You’re Timber, Seedling Options, Wild Pig Damage and Control and a field tour at the Talladega National Forest.

CFE units will be available to Registered Foresters that attend the workshop. Early registration fee by June 1, 2015 is $35.00, late registration fee is $40.00, spouse registration fee is $20.00. For additional information contact Katherine with the Walker County Soil and Water Conservation District at (205) 384-0606 ext. 1.

lurleen b. wallace CC Announces Position

LBWCC Announces the following position:Forestry Instructor

Deadline for applying is May 29, 2015 at 5:00 p.m.
Starting date for employment is July, 2015

GLOBAL POSITION OF US FOREST INDUSTRY

The United States’ share of global industrial roundwood production has declined since the 1990s. We reviewed data from 1961-2013 to evaluate the extent of this decline for industrial roundwood and derived secondary forest products compared to other major producing countries. We find that the U.S. global share of industrial roundwood peaked at 28 percent in 1999 but then declined to 17 percent by 2012.

DON'T FORGET ABOUT OUR BOOKS ON FORESTRY

We now have two books that you can use to learn more about forestland management and the history of the forest products industry in Alabama. These books make outstanding gifts for birthdays, Christmas and any other gift-giving purpose. The book on the left, Green Gold: Alabama's Forests and Forest Industries, provides the first comprehensive history of forestry in Alabama, from when the Indians cleared forests for agriculture to the modern era.

The book on the right, Managing Forests on Private Lands in Alabama and the Southeast, is probably the best book every produced on managing forests for timber production and for preserving water and wildlife resources.

If you are interested in owning either or both of these books, contact Liz Chambers at (334) 481-2135 or lchambers@alaforestry.org.